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Monday, June 18, 2012

Motivational Song: Never Let A Bad Day Be Enough...

Never let a bad day be enough
To go and talk you into giving up
Sometimes everybody feels like you
Oh, feels like you, just like you

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I have been catching up on TV shows from last season, including Smash. I've only watched the first two episodes so far. I've heard the show goes downhill over the season, which is too bad because I really liked how it started. Me? Like a musical? Yeah, I guess that's not much of a shocker.

The final number of the second episode was a song called "Crazy Dreams", performed by Megan Hilty as Ivy Lynn after she has just learned she has landed her dream part playing Marilyn Monroe in a musical bound for Broadway. I have not been able to get it out of my head ever since I heard it! While I remembered that the lyrics had a good message about dreaming big and not giving up, it was the piano accompaniment that was really sticking with me. I finally turned to YouTube so I could hear it again and learn to sing along properly (I'm a big Broadway star in my head, and even more so in my car -- any other car-singers out there? Crap I am so awesome at singing in my car! I have won American Idol sooooooo many times in my car!). Since I think this song is so great, I just have to share it. The video is actually just audio, I assume for copyright reasons.

Now, I learned something interesting when I searched for this on YouTube. It's actually a Carrie Underwood song! One of her lesser-known ones, from her 2007 album Carnival Ride. Carrie was a co-writer of the song, and her version is much more up-tempo. Again, this video is just audio:

Which version do you like better? I like both, but like I said, the Smash version really hit me. I wonder who did the arrangement. It reminds me of the type of cover one of my favorite singers, Eva Cassidy, would do. Here are the full lyrics, some of which are cut from the Smash version. I think this song contain a good message about not giving up on yourself.

"Crazy Dreams"

Hello you long shots
You dark horse runners
Hairbrush singers, dashboard drummers
Hello you wild magnolias
Just waiting to bloom

There's a little bit of all that inside of me and you
Thank God even crazy dreams come true

I stood at the bottom of some walls I thought I couldn't climb
I felt like Cinderella at the ball just running out of time
So I know how it feels to be afraid
Think that it's all gonna slip away
Hold on, hold on

There's a lot of wonder left inside of me and you
Thank God even crazy dreams come true

Never let a bad day be enough
To go and talk you in to giving up
Sometimes everybody feels like you
Oh, feels like you, just like you

I've met some go-getters
Some difference makers
Small town heroes, and big chance takers
I've met some young hearts with something to prove

Here's to you long shots
You dark horse runners
Hairbrush singers, and dashboard drummers
Here's to you wild magnolias
Just waiting to bloom

There's a little bit of all that inside of me and you
Thank God even crazy dreams come true
Thank God even crazy dreams come true

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I'll be following up on a line from this song in a later post, the one about standing at the bottom of walls you thought you couldn't climb, so stay tuned.

I hope you enjoyed this song. Are there any songs that help you feel motivated, capable, fearless? What about songs that just put you in a "get it done" mood, like ones you'd listen to while cleaning? I'd love to hear some suggestions!